At The Temple of Heaven

Our stay in Beijing was full of incredible sight seeing. I spent most of my time there taking pictures in utter amazement by the history and beauty that surrounded me.

Over the next week or so, I hope to put up selected pictures from the places we visited. The first one in line is the Temple of Heaven.

According to the descriptions provided, the temple, which was built in 1420, was a place where the Emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasty worshiped heaven and prayed for good harvest. It consisted of several buildings and structures and was set on large grounds.

I also found out that before worshiping began, it was custom to burn a cleanly shaved calf, presumably alive, with pine twigs and reeds to welcome the heaven that is god.

My thoughts?

Oh, at least it wasn't live little virgins girls as the Mayans and the Greeks preferred.

Yup, the good old days indeed!

In addition to the fact that the temple itself was architecturally spectacular, it was also set in a beautiful park. So, not only did we enjoy visiting the historical structures, but we were also able to rest our tired selves afterwards and collect our thoughts about what we had just seen.

For More Photos, Click on the Continue Reading link at the bottom.